Alexander Zverev ends golden season with triumph at ATP finals 

Alexander Zverev has been one of tennis’s “star performers” in the second half of the year, claiming gold at the Tokyo Olympics and winning 31 of 35 matches, said Stuart Fraser in The Times. And on Sunday, the world No. 3 brought his season to a triumphant close by beating world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev to win the ATP finals in Turin.

Having lost to Medvedev in the tournament’s group stages, Zverev turned the tables on the Russian when they met again in the final, said BBC Sport. Serving superbly, he did not face a single break point in running out a comfortable 6-4, 6-4 winner.

The victory means that the 24-year-old German – who so far in his career has never won a Grand Slam – will head to the Australian Open early next year in a confident mood. And his prospects Down Under could receive a further boost if Novak Djokovic (whom Zverev beat in the semi-finals in Turin) decides not to take part, said Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail. The Melbourne tournament recently confirmed that all players must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

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The world No. 1 has never revealed his vaccination status, but is known to oppose jabs being made mandatory. When asked in Turin about his prospects of playing, the 20-time Grand Slam champion told reporters: “We’ll have to wait and see.”